East Sudan rebel group says ready for talks, sets conditions

Nov 15, 2005 (ASMARA) — The Sudan’s rebel eastern Front leader Musa Mohamed Ahmed, exressed the readiness of his movement to start peace talks with the Sudanese government on the plight of the East Sudan.

Musa addressed the opening session of a workshop organized by the rebel movement in the Eritrean capital Asmara to strengthen its capacity and develop negotiation skills.

Earlier in November the rebel group said that peace talks with Khartoum will kick off in in the first week of next December.

Musa further indicated that the Eastern Front would, as an alternative, pursue the objective of self-determination if the principle it advocates and the ones on which any agreement should be based is not respected.

Musa underlined as a precondition that the Government of Sudan should in the first place accord official recognition to the Eastern Front and that the holding of talks should be held in an open manner under the umbrella of regional and international mediator.

Before that, the Chairman of the Front underlined, the Sudanese government should assure its readiness to lift the prevailing state of emergency in East Sudan, release all political prisoners and bring to justice all those accused of violating human rights and abuse of power as well as corruption.

He stated that the Eastern Front not only embraces the entire people of East Sudan but also has a broad basis and possesses a vision helping to resolve all problems confronting the Sudan.

The three-day workshop is being attended by a number of the Front’s cadres from inside Sudan, Europe, America, Australia, the Arab world and Africa.

(ST/Shabait)